One day, the two most important attractions in Rome – the Vatican and the Colosseum with our No-Wait Access. See the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and St. Peter’s Basilica. This is the tour to make the most out of your precious vacation time in the Eternal City.

Tour Highlights

The only one-day tour combining the Vatican and the Colosseum

Also enjoy the Sistine Chapel, Roman Forum and St. Peter’s Basilica

No-Wait Access special entrance to the Vatican

Skip-the-Line access to St. Peter’s Basilica and the Colosseum

Expert, English-speaking guide to accompany you throughout

Small groups of only 25 people or fewer

Audio headsets so you can always hear your guide

This tour is divided into two parts. Between the first and the second part there will be some free time

No-Wait Access at the Vatican

Cross the border into Vatican City, the world's smallest independent state and enjoy No-Wait Access to the Vatican Museums, where you'll see famous artworks including the Sistine Chapel.

Feel like a Gladiator

Also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, this is one of the most highly-recognized attractions in Italy and around the world. The largest of its kind, it has towered over Rome since 70 AD, hosting mock sea battles, gladiatorial contests, executions and plays over the centuries.

St. Peter’s Basilica

Named after one of Jesus’s twelve apostles and one of the largest churches in the world, this towering structure houses an ornate collection of Late Renaissance architecture and art, including Michelangelo’s 'Pietà'.

Description

The only one-day tour combining the two single-most important attractions in Rome – the Colosseum and the Vatican – you’ll also be treated to visits to the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Enjoy No-Wait Access special entrance to the Vatican and Skip-the-Line access to the Colosseum and St. Peter’s Basilica, taking advantage of your limited and precious vacation time. With routes specially designed by our expert local English-speaking guides, you’ll save even more time and get more incredible sites and memories in.

We begin the morning with a tailor-crafted itinerary through the Vatican Museums where you will be ushered past the crowds to the most important and famous artwork housed here. Stand in awe beneath the Sistine Chapel, tour the Raphael Rooms and enjoy a wide variety of galleries filled to the ceiling with ancient sculptures, medieval maps, pristine paintings, delicate tapestries and precious relics.

Hear fascinating stories only a local would know with your expert English-speaking guide. Learn the interesting personalities behind your favorite pieces of art, bringing the ancient collection to full vibrancy. The frescos of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel hold hidden secrets, including a personal message to the Pope and your City Wonders guide will be your key to unlocking these clandestine communications.

We next stroll to St. Peter’s Basilica, the home to multiple marvels and masterpieces including Michelangelo’s Pieta and the magnificent altar. Bask before the ornate basilica and its impressive dome -one of the largest in the world. Then enjoy free time to explore on your own and dine at a nearby authentic Italian café. Stroll through the center of Rome and take in the bustling sights and sounds of life as a modern Roman.

In the early afternoon, once relaxed and well fed, we cross over to the Colosseum, one of the world’s greatest wonders. Experts in archaeology and history, our local English-speaking guides will take you back in time to the ancient Roman empire, recounting the gory and gruesome spectacles, battles and politics that played out here. It is a great and awe-inspiring amphitheater more magnificent than any modern arena and it looms in the center of this great metropolis, just waiting to welcome you.

But the adventure doesn’t end there. We step further back in time to Palatine Hill where Rome was founded by the wolf-raised Romulus. Imagine yourself as an ancient aristocrat debating your foes in the Roman Forum, the political and economic heart of the ancient empire. It is an experience like no other in the Eternal City, and only City Wonders can provide it on an incredible, intimate one-day excursion.

What's included

Skip the Line Access and tickets to the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

Headsets, so you can always hear your guide

Small groups of 25 people or less

Expert, English-speaking tour guides

What's not included

Gratuities

Hotel pick-up/drop-off

Transfer between tour meeting points

Food and beverages

Meeting Point

Important notes

St. Peter's Basilica and other religious sites are subject to occasional closures for religious ceremonies. When this occurs, we will provide guests with an extended tour of the Vatican Museums, or appropriate alternative. In these cases we are unable to provide refunds or discounts. Appropriate dress is required for entry into some sites on this tour. Knees, shoulders and backs must be covered. Due to increased security measures at many attractions some lines may form on tours with 'Skip the Line' or 'No Wait' access.

FAQs

The tours meet at a location very close and convenient to the entrance of the Vatican Museums. Full details of the exact location are included on the confirmation voucher you will receive when you book your tour.

If you wish to explore the Colosseum on your own after your tour, you should take our Express Colosseum Tour with Gladiator's Entrance and Special Arena Floor Access (with or without Breakfast). This gives you a guided tour of the Colosseum only. After the tour you can choose to either enjoy the skip-the-line entrance tickets to the Roman Forum (our guide would accompany you to enter but the visit is not guided) or stay inside the Colosseum without the guide.

For any other tour however, our tours follow a pattern of visit and you would not be able re-enter the Colosseum without waiting in the line and purchasing an additional ticket.